Japan: Olympics closing ceremonyIOC president declares Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games closed

The pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympic Games came to an end Sunday with a smaller, more subdued closing ceremony than in years' past, much like the opening ceremony 17 days ago.

After a more than two-hour ceremony that saluted the athletes, organizers and volunteers who made these Games a success, IOC president Thomas Bach declared the Games closed and the Olympic flame was extinguished.

Read more: IOC president declares Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games closed | CBC Sports

Tokyo to host 2020 Olympic Games

Tokyo has been chosen to host the 2020 summer Olympic Games by the event's organizing committee, beating out Istanbul and Madrid in the final vote tally.

All three cities made impassioned pleas to the International Olympic Committee during presentations on Saturday.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe emphatically promised the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant would have no negative effect on Tokyo, while his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged the IOC to choose Istanbul and help "send a strong message of peace to the whole world".

Madrid emphasised it was ready, dependable and safe, with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy telling members "numbers don't lie".

Tokyo's win comes after two years of intense lobbying and tens of millions of dollars in campaigning by all three candidate cities.

Madrid was initially knocked out, with Istanbul and Tokyo advancing to the second round of voting.

Read more: Tokyo to host 2020 Olympic Games - Olympics - Al Jazeera English